Terry's Sex Shop is like a candy shop for gay men: Swirly green patterns on blue walls and orange shelves stacked with costumes, sex toys, dirty DVDs, and magazines. Framed in silver along the walls are large posters of naked men that are guaranteed to make you hard if the mere idea of stepping into a sex shop hasn't. Small disco balls flicker red and blue in beat with the low thumping club music. On a free stand are colorful male thongs and skimpy tank tops. You have to go deeper into the shop to find the more hardcore stuff like chains, crotch belts, and leather harnesses. Terry says he keeps them there so they won't spook the vanilla guys when they enter the shop.

I spend a long time in front of the vast selection of lubes. It's so tempting to try out the mango and pear flavored ones, but Adam would throw me out before I could pop the cap.

Terry winks and smiles with his sexy curvy lips when he comes to replace his gangly assistant. The bright orange button-up shirt looks extra sexy on his fit body.

"Hey, Eric, I got some new toys if you're interested."

Terry's only half Indian, but his skin is still a rich mocha latte and his hair shiny, black, and wavy. He's five years older than I am and one sexy bastard with a wide smile. But what really drew me in when I first saw him were his light brown eyes framed in long black lashes.

"New toys? Let's see 'em."

I dump the condoms on the glass counter display of pill bottles, cock rings, and other knick knacks next to his cash register.

Terry gestures at my rolls of condoms with a short chuckle. "Stocking up for the weekend, I see."

"A possible threesome," I reply while he pulls out a big box full of vibrators and other stuff in excessive packaging.

"Threesome? Nice. Anyone I know?"

"Nah, don't think you've met them. I bet they shop for lube at the pharmacy," I mumble as I rummage through the box.

"A couple, then?"

"Yup, it's my study buddy, Adam, and his boyfriend, Jesse. He's the guy I told you about -- you know, the one Adam and I practically ended up yanking out of the closet last semester after months of epic drama. I offered to be a third at the end of last summer, but it was more like a joke."

"Adam and Jesse, as in your dorm mates, Adam and Jesse?" Terry asks just as I stop searching through the box. "I've seen Adam; he's mega hot. How come you get to have sex with them?"

"I said 'possibly,' And they're both mega hot." I shove my hands in my deep purple pleather pockets. "But hey, what's up with the 'you'? I have sex with hot guys all the time. I have sex with you, don't I?"

"Touche," he answers with an eyebrow wiggle. "But it sounds like you managed to screw it up, huh?"

"No, I didn't screw it up." I smack Terry's arm. My figure is so much smaller than his that he doesn't even budge, not that he's a big guy; I'm just very short and skinny.

"Okay, I may have. Thing is Adam made Jesse ask because he didn't want things to get awkward in our study sessions if I refused. As if things wouldn't be awkward if I accepted. For a smart guy, he can be unbelievably dumb."

"So what if Jesse asked instead of Adam?"

"Well, it didn't really matter, but I love ruffling Adam's feathers, so I told Jesse I'd accept if Adam asked me. It's been six days, and he still hasn't spoken to me. He even cancelled our study sessions."

"Aww." Terry's comfort aww is totally cancelled out by the huge grin on his face. "So you're definitely gonna do it if he asks?"

"Hell yeah! You know I can't resist all that muscle."

I dive back in and pull out a number of anal plugs and vibrators.

Adam and I have been friends since the beginning of the first semester. He's a very serious guy, but once you get over the whole intimidation act, he's really great and sometimes even funny. The problem is that I've never been in this kind of position with him before, so I have no idea what to expect. I half thought he'd come kicking down my door to knock me over the head after I sent Jesse back with the message, but he didn't. Now I get this pang in my gut when I think about losing Adam as a friend.

"Don't you have anything bigger?" I ask, holding up a random vibrator.

"You mean like vaginal vibrators? They're not meant for ass-play, you dork, but I've got something even better. You'll love it."

Terry disappears through the racks of toys and videos and brings back a big box holding a skin-colored, realistic-looking dildo.

"This thing is a-mazing. It almost feels like the real thing too. Completely non-toxic, curved for prostate stimulation, and moves in circular motions on five different speeds."

"You sound like an infomercial."

Terry chuckles softly while he opens the box. "Here, touch it. Feels real, right?"

It does. It feels smooth and silky, and I'm getting all horny just by touching it. But it costs a hundred bucks.

"I know it's pricy, but I'll give you fifty percent off if you'll join me out back," he leers, jerking his chin towards the blue cloth-covered doorway to his storage-slash-office. "It's been a while."

This is the kinda deal he and I have. It's bordering on prostitution, but Terry's great in bed and also very hot, so I don't really see it that way. Besides, he's a good friend, and we have sex regardless of him selling me stuff or not.

"I can't today. I need to abstain for the threesome."

Terry lets out a short snort. "You? Abstain?"

The door bell chimes as I place a hand on my hip. "Listen here, Terrance Nihal Adani. Just because I love having a big cock up my ass doesn't mean I can't go without one. I was practically growing a halo last semester."

Terry's still snickering when he glances away from me to nod at the customer. "Let me know if you need any help, buddy," he says between chuckles. To me he winks while he punches on his cash register with his index finger. "That'll be fifty bucks. I'm throwing the condoms in for free."

I give him my sweetest smile while I fish out a fifty. "Thanks Terry, you're a gem."

"I know I am, and you better not forget it," he says while he puts the dildo and condoms in a black bag with hot pink letters. "But maybe we could have a threesome? Maybe with that cutie over there?"

I glance around until I see the guy walking between racks of products like a fly in a frog shop, trying to check out the merchandise while being too embarrassed to really look. My stomach drops for like a second before I recover.

The belled sleeves of my purple and green shirt brush against my chin as I lean towards Terry with cringe. "Alex Centauri?" I whisper. "I don't know...he's kinda..."

Terry leans over the counter and whispers back. "You know him? He's super hot."

Yes he is. He's got black, lightly-curled hair; light caramel-colored skin; and dark brown doe eyes. His profile is breathtaking, and his curved lips made me shudder the very first time I laid my eyes on them. But that's where the glory ends. What makes Alexander Centauri oh-so-boring is his formless blue suit, but it's his lack of anything to say when we try to talk and his awkward behavior that always makes me wonder how on earth a guy like that managed to build up a successful publishing house.

Terry leans closer so we're almost touching cheek--to-cheek while we both watch Alex pick up a random item and put it back just as quickly. "Wouldn't it be fun? We would look like a color chart: Mocha on top, caramel in the middle, and your skinny white ass at the bottom."

Alex's deep brown eyes find mine when I snicker a little too loudly behind my hand. His lips quirk into a smile as he makes his way over.

"Um, hi, Eric," he says, stopping eight feet away. His nervous speech is all too recognizable to me; I had to listen to it all summer while I worked for him.

A crazy-wide grin stretches across my face. "Hey, Alex. I never expected to see you in a sex shop. Looking for something specific?"

His cheeks flush while he swiftly presses his knuckle to his lips. "No, um, just doing some research for the magazine."

That would be his pet project, Gay Guys Magazine. A boring name from a boring guy. It's a monthly issue with seven of the eight employees at Centauri Publishing working on it as writers and editors. I handled a sex-advice column last summer plus wrote a couple of articles. It was heaps of fun, and the other employees have fun with it as well, but it's a small issue with few readers, so it's probably a money vortex.

"I thought Macy handled the kinky stuff," I say.

This initiates another blush.

"Macy's on maternity leave," Alex says and glances around, rubbing his trembling fingers together.

I puff out air and arch an eyebrow at Terry in a I'm-so-not-having-a-threesome-with-that-guy kinda way. It would be awkward as hell -- more for Alex than me.

"Well, I gotta go meet Jazz. We're getting our privates waxed," I say matter-of-factly, quickly glancing at Alex for reaction. He drops his gaze as soon as our eyes meet.

"At Peter's place? Maybe he could be our third." Terry scratches the black stubble on his chin.

"Or we could make things easy and just ask Jazz. You know he'll jump at it," I suggest.

"Yeah, but it's been a while since I had sex with Peter. He's one good fuck."

"I know," I say, wagging my eyebrows. "That's why I go to him."

Peter always gives me a good discount, too. His services also border on prostitution, but since he gives me that discount regardless of whether we have sex or not, it doesn't really count.

Terry laughs. "You're such a man-whore."

"Hell yeah I am," I say proudly as I pass a very still, very red Alex on my way out. "Later dudes."